Francona audio

Red Sox manager Terry Francona talks about the team's new additions.

Audio by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff

Injury updates:

Jason Varitek: He suffered a broken metatarsal when a foul ball off the bat of Carl Crawford hit him in the 7th inning on Wednesday. He had an MRI and CT scan yesterday that revealed the break. He'll be in a boot and on crutches for 2-3 weeks and then rehab from there.

Manny Delcarmen: He is having an MRI this afternoon. Doctors don't think he has a serious injury. The hope is a few weeks off will knock the discomfort of out there. It's worth noting that Delcarmen had a similar injury in the second half of last season.

Josh Beckett: He said his back feels great. He'll go with the team to Florida and pitch in a Gulf Coast League game on Tuesday at noon in Sarasota. He's down for three innings for 50 pitches, whatever comes first. "I think it'll take me two or three games to get to where I need to get to," he said.

Jed Lowrie: Starts his rehab assignment with Lowell on Monday.

Jeremy Hermida: He hit in the cage, making that three times in the last four days. He's getting close to hitting on the field. "Every day it gets a little better," he said. Hermida has been out with fractured ribs.

Clay Buchholz: On track to start Monday. He'll throw a side tomorrow.

Terry Francona praised the addition of Cash, saying he was the "perfect guy" given his experience with the Red Sox. From a defensive standpoint, he's right. But Cash was DFA'd by a last place team and was hitting .204. Anything is does with the bat is a bonus.

Romero is a switch-hitting utility infielder who was obtained from Cleveland after the Sox let Kevin Frandsen go. He played a handful of games with the Indians last season and was hitting .268 for Pawtucket,.

Manuel has solid numbers at Pawtucket (1.54 ERA) and righthanders were hitting .154 against him. He's a location/deception guy who has always pitched pretty well in the minors (career 1.06 WHIP) but never gotten much of a chance in the majors.

That's it for now. Back with more later on.

UPDATE, 6:16 p.m.: We have the audio of Terry Francona's pre-game press conference on the blog now. Let me know in the comments section if this is something you like having access to. I'd like to make a semi-regular feature.